Toronto, Canada

Toronto is the primary financial, commercial, and manufacturing center in Canada.

Vitually all of the largest Canadian banks and insurance companies are based in
Toronto. The Toronto Stock Exchange is
one of the largest in North America.

The city contains the headquarters of many of the leading nonfinancial
firms operating in Canada.

The varied manufacturing base of the city includes printing and
publishing, television and film production, processed foods and beverages, transportation
equipment, metal goods, electronic and electrical products, chemicals, clothing, and paper
items.

By 1951 Toronto had become a substantial commercial and manufacturing
center, with a population of 1.2 million. Three years later, on January 1, 1954, Toronto
and 12 of its neighboring communities merged into the Municipality of Metropolitan
Toronto. In the next two decades the population doubled, partly because of immigration
from Europe, and Toronto became known for its dynamism and its ethnic diversity. This
growth and diversity have been augmented by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and the
West Indies in more recent years. In the late 1970s, upper-income suburbanites began
moving to the city to renovate older downtown areas, including the waterfront
district.Population: Toronto proper (1986) 612,289; (1991) 635,395. Toronto Census
Metropolitan Area (1986) 3,431,981; (1991) 3,893,046

The city is an important port on the
Saint Lawrence Seaway and is served by major railroads
and highways and by Pearson International Airport. A
subway system was opened in 1954 and subsequently extended; this system is part of a
transit network that is one of the most heavily used in the world.